Army of Mobile
On January 27, 1862, the command of Brigadier-General Jones M. Withers,
consisting of Alabama troops in and around the city of Mobile, was designated
the Army of Mobile. Its strength was about ten thousand. It was subsequently
commanded by Colonel J. B. Villepigue, temporarily, and Brigadier-General Samuel
Jones, after March 15th. Many of the regiments entered the Army of the
Mississippi and fought at Shiloh under Withers. More regiments were sent to that
army, and on June 27, the Army of Mobile was discontinued.
Major-General
Jones Mitchell Withers (U.
S. M. A.. 1835) was born in Madison County, Alabama, January 12, 1814, and
resigned from the army in 1848. He entered the Confederate service and received
an appointment as brigadier-general in July, 1861. He was promoted to
major-general after the battle of Shiloh. From January 27th to February 28,
1862, he was in command of the Army of Mobile. He then had a division in the
Second Corps, Army of the Mississippi, and also the Reserve Corps for a time,
and passed into the Right Wing and Polk's Corps, Army of Tennessee. He resigned
his commission July 13, 1863, but his rank was restored within a few days, after
which he assumed various commands in Alabama. He surrendered at Meridian,
Mississippi, May 11, 1865, and died March 13,1890.
Brigadier-General
John Bordenave Villepigue (U.
S. M. A. 1854) was born in Camden, South Carolina, July 2, 1830, and resigned
from the army in March, 1861, to enter the Confederate service. As colonel, he
was temporarily in command of the Army of Mobile. He was appointed
brigadier-general, March 18, 1862. He was in command at Fort Pillow at the time
of Flag-Officer Davis's attack, May-June, 1862, and commanded a brigade at the
battle of Corinth, October 4th. He died at Port Hudson, Louisiana, November 9,
1862, as the result of illness. Villepigue was considered one of the most
promising young officers in the Confederate service, death was greatly deplored.